Work Type: Fixed-term - Part-time
Salary: Salary not specified
Grade: Education Support - Level 1, Range 3
Occupation: Education and training
Location: Grampians - Golden Plains
Reference: 1483171
This Wellbeing Officer position will be employed across two small rural schools: Bungaree Primary School and Lal Lal Primary School. Please email the Principal at Bungaree Primary School ([email protected]) for further information.
Bungaree Primary School is an inviting, inclusive and vibrant school, offering quality learning opportunities in an engaging learning environment. We are located in a small rural town located in the Central Highlands of Victoria, about 15 kilometres east of Ballarat, and serve the towns of Bungaree, Wallace, Millbrook, Springbank and surrounding areas. The area is famous for its rich farming soil and beautiful rural vistas.
Bungaree Primary School's current enrolment is 24 students. The school's motto is `Together we can grow', which reflects on the strong community feel of our school. We believe that educating our students is a shared responsibility between our teachers, parents, community members and most importantly the students themselves. Our vision is for our students to become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens. The school works hard at providing the best for all students and aims for every child to thrive in our learning environment whilst learning and living the school values of respect, positivity, determination and creativity.
The small, but very committed professional teaching team work together to ensure effective, consistent and engaging programs are planned and implemented. Our staff provide a high level of support to our students and their families and regularly engage in additional professional learning, including working with health and wellbeing professionals, to ensure we are offering the best possible school experience to all students. Our school provides an approved curriculum framework based on the Victorian Curriculum, differentiated to meet student needs. Bungaree Primary School is actively engaged in providing our students with a curriculum that is stimulating and linked to the real world. Our strengths include providing learning depth and breadth to cater for diverse learning needs and to ensure that every student has the opportunity to experience success.
Learning opportunities are tailored for our students from Foundation to Year 6. Curriculum is delivered consistently via an agreed instructional model and learning pedagogy that reflects current best practices. We provide rich and diverse learning opportunities to maximise the academic, social and emotional growth of all students. Learning achievements are monitored, acknowledged and celebrated together by students, staff and families.
Lal Lal Primary school is located just 15 minutes outside of Ballarat. The school is an integral part of the local community. There is only the local mechanic, pub and school in Lal Lal. Buninyong is the closest town just 10 minutes down the road. The original school was established in 1866. The school boasts committed, experienced teachers, friendly hardworking students, and a very supportive and active school community.
Resilience, Respect, Effort and Kindness are core values that are the cornerstones of a strong culture of learning and development.
The school is very fortunate to have excellent facilities. There are dedicated teaching spaces for specialist subjects such as music and art and three other refurbished classrooms for learning with smaller quieter spaces for flexible learning.
There has been steady growth in student numbers over the past few years to our current healthy level of 39 students with two Program for Students with Disabilities (PSD) students, 2 Koorie students and no students with English as an Additional Language. (EAL. They are supported by 3.4 teachers full time staff, one working principal class and 0.6 support staff who worked across administration and student support. The school is grouped into three small multi age classes during the core areas of Literacy and Numeracy and then two classes in the afternoon for Specialist areas. The school is focusing on evidence-based teaching approaches.
SC1: Outstanding short-term counselling and relationship building skills with staff, students, parents and the broader school community.
SC2: A proven capacity to work within the school environment and an ability to liaise with outside agencies.
SC3: A proven capacity to provide high quality and needs based professional development to staff and other school community members.
SC4: An ability to provide well being support and specific programs within the classroom environment to complement existing programs.
SC5: Demonstrated excellent interpersonal skills and an ability to communicate effectively with students, parents and staff.
SC6: A capacity to work closely with key staff members whilst adhering to department guidelines and school based protocols.
The National Student Wellbeing Program (NSWP) provides:
· pastoral care services
· strategies that support the wellbeing of the broader school community.
The NSWP defines pastoral care as the practice of supporting the general wellbeing of students and the school community.
Student wellbeing team members must follow the NSWP Guidelines. The guidelines include a code of conduct which must be signed by the chaplain or student wellbeing officer. The NSWP guidelines can be viewed at https://www.vic.gov.au/national-student-wellbeing-program.
A student wellbeing officer engaged via the NSWP may:
The roles and responsibilities of NSWP student wellbeing officers could include:
· supporting student attendance, engagement and mental health
· supporting students in difficult or challenging situations such as during times of grief
· providing students with referrals to specialist services when required
· providing guidance to students about values and ethical matters
· supporting physical, emotional, social and intellectual development and wellbeing of all students
· supporting an environment of cooperation and respecting a diversity of cultures and traditions
Demonstrated understanding and implementation of evidence based practice approaches and techniques which support the wellbeing and engagement of those associated with our learning community, including students, parents/carers, staff and external agencies. Other responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
Student wellbeing officers must hold a Certificate IV equivalent or higher qualification that includes competencies in:
· mental health and making appropriate referrals, and
· providing pastoral care or working with youth.
Qualifications in the Community Services Training Package that meet these requirements are::
· Certificate IV in Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care (CHC42315)
· Certificate IV in Community Services (CHC42015)
· Certificate IV in Mental Health (CHC43315)
· Certificate IV in Youth Justice (CHC40513)
· Certificate IV in Youth Work (CHC40413).
Information on training providers for these courses can be found at www.training.gov.au.
Other qualifications in psychology or social work may be suitable. See:
· the Psychology Board of Australia approved courses of study
· the Australian Association of Social Workers accredited courses.
All student wellbeing officers must hold a valid employee working with children clearance.
Student wellbeing officers must comply with the school's child safety screening requirements.
Applicants seeking part-time employment are encouraged to apply for any teaching service position and, if they are the successful candidate, request a reduced time fraction. Such requests will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis and will be subject to the operational requirements of the school.
The Department of Education is committed to the principles of equal opportunity, and diversity and inclusion for all. We value diversity and inclusion in all forms - gender, religion, ethnicity, LGBTIQ+, disability and neurodiversity. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for roles within the Department. The Department recognises that the provision of family friendly, supportive, safe and harassment free workplaces is essential to high performance and promotes flexible work, diversity and safety across all schools and Department workplaces. It is our policy to provide reasonable adjustments for persons with a disability (see Workplace adjustment guidelines).
Additional support and advice on the recruitment process is available to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders from the Koorie Outcomes Division (KOD) via [email protected]
Victorian government schools are child safe environments. Our schools actively promote the safety and wellbeing of all students, and all school staff are committed to protecting students from abuse or harm in the school environment, in accordance with their legal obligations including child safe standards. All schools have a Child Safety Code of Conduct consistent with the department's exemplar available at:
https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/child-safe-standards/policy
The department's employees commit to upholding the department's Values: Responsiveness, Integrity, Impartiality, Accountability, Respect, Leadership and Human Rights. The department's Values complement each school's own values and underpin the behaviours the community expects of Victorian public sector employees, including those who work in Victorian Government Schools. Information on the department values is available at:
https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/values-department-vps-school-employees/overview
Applicants are encouraged to attach their resume, Key Selection Criteria and any other relevant information in one document saved in PDF format.